When financial institutions invest in a new digital banking platform, the technology is only part of the equation. The real measure of success is how customers experience the transition.
For First Merchants Bank, a $19 billion financial institution headquartered in Indiana, upgrading to the Q2 digital banking platform represented the first major online banking platform change in nearly a decade. With thousands of customers relying on digital banking every day, the bank knew that minimizing disruption would be just as important as completing the technical conversion.
As Jennifer Wehrly of First Merchants Bank explains in her testimonial, every decision throughout the project centered around one question:
How do we create the best possible experience for our clients while making the transition as seamless as possible?
Choosing Experience Over Uncertainty
Like many financial institutions, First Merchants considered whether to manage customer training internally or partner with a specialized conversion team.
Rather than making the decision based solely on cost, the bank evaluated previous conversion experiences, reviewed customer impact from past integrations, analyzed inbound call volumes, and carefully considered which approach would create the least disruption for clients.
The answer became clear after speaking with peer institutions.
"We'd heard Superior's name for years," Jennifer recalls. "We had several conversations with peer banks that had used Superior for conversions... Superior was by far the one that we had heard the most, so it was an easy choice to make."
That reputation, combined with proven experience supporting Q2 implementations, gave First Merchants confidence that they had selected the right partner.
Expertise That Accelerated the Project
One of the biggest surprises during the engagement wasn't simply the quality of the training—it was how knowledgeable the Superior team already was.
"Their knowledge of the Q2 platform was really surprising to me," Jennifer says. "They had quite a few team members who already had significant knowledge of the platform, so when our internal teams were training Superior's team, it was so smooth and easy."
Instead of spending valuable project time teaching the fundamentals of the platform, First Merchants was able to focus on the unique aspects of their implementation while relying on a team that already understood the customer journey.
That experience shortened the learning curve and helped accelerate project readiness.
Every Bank Is Different
No two financial institutions approach a conversion the same way.
While Superior provides proven project frameworks and reporting, First Merchants wanted additional executive-level visibility throughout the migration.
Rather than forcing the bank into a standard reporting model, Superior collaborated with the team to build customized dashboards and reports that matched their leadership's needs.
"We were really looking for customization on reporting," Jennifer explains. "Superior was very flexible in being able to do that for us and built out the reporting that we needed."
That flexibility gave executives meaningful insights throughout the project while reinforcing that the engagement was built around First Merchants' objectives—not a one-size-fits-all process.
Giving Customers Options
A successful conversion recognizes that every customer learns differently.
Some clients prefer quick reference guides. Others benefit from videos or live webinars. Commercial users with more complex configurations often appreciate personalized one-on-one assistance.
Rather than requiring customers to follow a single training path, First Merchants offered multiple ways to prepare for the new platform, including:
- Self-service guides and documentation
- Instructional videos
- Live webinars
- Personalized one-on-one training sessions
"We really wanted to customize and allow clients to have their options," Jennifer says. "Whether they wanted to self-source training using guides and videos, attend webinars, or participate in one-on-one training."
Providing multiple learning options helped customers transition at their own pace while reducing confusion before and after go-live.
Communication That Builds Confidence
Technology projects inevitably generate questions.
What often determines success is how quickly those questions are answered.
For Jennifer, one of the biggest differentiators throughout the engagement was Superior's responsiveness.
"What probably surprised me most was the attentiveness and the communication," she says. "Anything that we needed—they were right on the spot. Whether it was a phone call or a quick email, we could escalate anything to them, and they turned it around as quickly as possible."
That level of responsiveness helped keep the project moving while giving the First Merchants team confidence that they always had a trusted resource available.
Results That Matter
The success of a conversion isn't measured only by whether the data migrates correctly.
It's measured by how customers adapt.
For First Merchants, the project achieved exactly what the team set out to accomplish.
"Our online banking conversion to Q2 was a tremendous success," Jennifer says. "We looked at client attrition, which was absolutely minimal."
Perhaps the strongest endorsement came when Jennifer was asked whether she would work with Superior again.
"Oh, I absolutely would work with Superior again," she says. "There are other platforms and enhancements that we've thought about, and Superior would be our first phone call."
More Than a Vendor—A Trusted Advisor
When asked to describe the relationship, Jennifer didn't use words like vendor or contractor.
Instead, she described Superior as:
- Collaborative
- Authentic
- Friendly
- Responsive
- A trusted advisor
"They communicate so well. They're able to customize what your needs are... it just made the transition so easy."
For financial institutions preparing for a digital banking conversion, those qualities can make all the difference.
Technology powers the platform.
People power the experience.
And when both come together, customers can move confidently from one platform to the next with minimal disruption.
